Warriors slip past Hanson in St. Edmund tourney

The Northside Christian Warriors bolted out to an early lead and then hung on for dear life in the second half to slip past Hanson Memorial, 48-41, Monday in the first round of the St. Edmund Tournament.
The Warriors (10-11) took on Class B’s No. 5-ranked Lacassine in the Small School Bracket semifinals yesterday.
The two teams had already squared off once this season with Lacassine (16-5) claiming a 94-63 victory over the Warriors on Nov. 13.
In Monday’s game, the Warriors got four points each from Caleb Hanks, Garrett Kidder and Jagger Thibodeaux in the first quarter and took a slim 14-9 advantage.
They went on a big 12-3 run to start the second frame and went on to take a commanding 30-16 lead at the break.
Hanks, Thibodeaux, Jake Morgan and Andrew Woods each scored four points during the 16-7 run.
The offensive production on both ends slowed in the third quarter with the Tigers outscoring the Warriors 8-6.
The Tigers inched back into the game in the final frame and trimmed the lead to six (45-39) late in the period after forcing eight NCS turnovers.
But the Warriors held off the charge by sinking three of four free throws down the stretch. Carson Tweedel hit both of his attempts with 26 seconds left and Thibodeaux added one with six ticks remaining.
The Warriors connected on eight of their 17 free throw attempts, all in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers went 11-for-16 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter and were 13-for-27 overall on the night.
Hanks led all scorers with 16 points and Thibodeaux added nine.
Joseph Woods followed with seven points, Jake Morgan and Andrew Woods each scored five, Garrett Kidder had four and Carson Tweedel finished with two.
Brandon Loustalot and Riley Rodriguez each scored in double figures for the Tigers with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
A victory in the semifinals by the Warriors would send them to today’s championship game against either Grace Christian or Basile.
Grace defeated South Cameron, 63-46, in the first round to advance to yesterday’s semifinal round. Basile beat host St. Edmund, 70-57, in their opening round game.
Should the Warriors lose their semifinal matchup, they would play in a consolation game today at 11 a.m. against the loser of the Grace Christian - Basile game.